[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 24 (Thursday, March 7, 2002)]
[House]
[Page H741]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      MOURNING LOSS OF MITCH TYLER, HOKE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA, 
                       SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS

  (Mr. HAYES asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. HAYES. Madam Speaker, I rise today to join Hoke County, North 
Carolina, in mourning the loss of one of our most respected citizens, 
Superintendent of Schools Mitch Tyler. At the age of 46, Mitch was 
taken from us far too early, and we will feel the loss to our community 
for years to come. Mitch had been superintendent for less than 2 years, 
but his more than 20 years in education, from the State and university 
levels to Hoke and Cumberland County, made him a well-known, trusted 
figure and a respected role model.
  Mitch, a Robeson County native, started his career in Hoke County. He 
was a teacher or administrator at West Hoke Elementary, J.W. McLauchlin 
Elementary and the Turlington School. From 1989 to 1992, he was 
principal of Hoke County High School. He also worked as a coordinator 
of Hoke County's Indian education program, a senior assistant to State 
Superintendent Mike Ward and a director of the University of North 
Carolina at Pembroke where he was a liaison to region schools.
  He was a tireless and selfless advocate for children and an 
enthusiastic consensus-builder encouraging camaraderie, teamwork, and 
self-respect among teachers and staff. They knew they could trust his 
word and that he would do things right. Mitch was also a man of faith 
who served as assistant pastor and Sunday school teacher at Shannon 
Assembly of God.
  Today we mourn the loss of Mitch Tyler, a man of great character and 
a leader who always strived to do what was best for children. Barbara 
and I join the Hoke County community in prayer for Mitch's wife and two 
teenage children as they grieve the loss of husband and father. Yet we 
celebrate the life of one who lived so well. Our thoughts and prayers 
are with you.

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